Teachers and pupils at Kunsu R/C JHS in the Ahafo Ano South -West District of the Ashanti region have indicated that education for them is riskier than being on the farm.
This is because the Kunsu R/C JHS cannot boast of safe and well-equipped classrooms, library, ICT laboratory, and other educational facilities that make learning conducive.
The situation is dire for, especially those in form one and two who are forced to sit under canopies , under which they are being taught
This came to light when teachers in the school lamented about the condition under which pupils were being taught.
According to them , the structure does not in any way qualify to be called a school as it is evident that the pupils only go there to waste time, play in the dirt and eat. “No teacher can teach under this condition and no child can learn here,” they stressed.
A visit to the SDA school in the same area revealed that apart from others studying under trees and canopies at R/C JHS some at Kunsu SDA have been combined under a dilapidated mud structure.
One of the teachers who refused to mention his name noted that “teaching and learning here is a high risk. This structure (mud classroom) can cave in at any time. It is only by a miracle that we survive each day.”
Whereas their counterparts in urban areas will be having the best of education and furniture, most of these children have to be writing on their laps, he added.
Some of the pupils in primary said they could not see a clear path to their future. For them, they have not had the best of education to qualify for higher education and well-paid jobs in the future. For them, it is a vicious cycle of poverty and lack. “We can never be at par with our colleagues in cities,of Kumasi Takoradi and Accra,” one of them said.
The Headmaster of Kunsu R/C JHS Mr.Gilbert Derry Nifakyenzaa added that the pupils and teachers are at the mercy of the weather; whether windy, rainy, or sunny, “We all suffer because we have nowhere to go.”
He said more often than not, schools have to be suspended when the weather gets harsh because they cannot risk their lives and that of the pupils that are in their care.
He, therefore, pleaded with the government, donors, and philanthropic organizations to come to the aid of the school.
Speaking to the District Chief Executive of the area, Hon Joseph Bonsu Frimpong was worried about the situation but blamed the situation about the increasing number of the pupils in the school.
According to him, there are other government schools in the area with more spaces but don’t understand as to why children keep enrolling themselves at Kunsu R/C.
He however advised parents to speak to their children so that they could be admitted in other equally important schools in the said area to reduce the pressure at Kunsu R/C JHS.
Source:Ayisah Foster
